Brownstone Renos: A Contrast In Styles
The House & Home today section compares the renovation approaches of one couple who went for a bold modern approach to renovating part of their brownstone overlooking Fort Greene Park with that of hardcore preservationists and Clinton Hill old-timers Jim and Sharon Barnes. Here’s what we had to say about the modern reno after seeing…
The House & Home today section compares the renovation approaches of one couple who went for a bold modern approach to renovating part of their brownstone overlooking Fort Greene Park with that of hardcore preservationists and Clinton Hill old-timers Jim and Sharon Barnes. Here’s what we had to say about the modern reno after seeing it last May on the Fort Greene House Tour:
Clearly the boldest departure from brownstone tradition on the Fort Greene House Tour was the parlor floor renovation at 203 Washington Park which featured poured and buffed concrete floors as well as an open-plan loft-style kitchen/dining/living area. We thought the modern approach was largely successful but agree with an earlier commenter that the juxtaposition to the shlubby traditional hallway was a little jarring. Perhaps the coolest part of the design, though, was the giant wall of windows overlooking the garden.
Interestingly, modern and spare does not mean cheap: The Phillips spent $400,000 renovating the bottom two floors.
By contrast, the Barnes have painstakingly restored their Clinton Avenue house over the past twenty years, along with seven other rental properties in the neighborhood. Preservation, to the Barnes, is a kind of calling. Every one of the people who I met over the years who’d bid on this house were going to tear it to smithereens,” says Ms. Barnes. “What is unique about this house is that it is intact.
A Flood of Foreclosures, but Should You Invest? [NY Times]
FGHT: Modern on the Park [Brownstoner]
Photos by John Lei for The New York Times
I had my bathroom floor done in concrete. bad idea. I guess the contractor screwed up the mix because the top layer was gritty and crumbled away after a few months. And it was cold and uncomfortable underfoot. Can’t afford to redo it now, but this past wekend I bought those interlocking foam floor mats and put them down until I can fix the floor. They look great, were easy to put down and they feel wonderful. Now I am not sure if I will do tile or get something similar but in a better grade.
i think it all boils down to whether it’s good modern and good old school. i know for a fact that b’stoner loves modern, when it’s done right, whatever the price. He also loves restoration and using salvaged materials to fix up a house. I agree. I hate over-mahoganized, dripping with victorian fixtures, stuff as much as I hate totally characterless white-box hotel furnished spaces.
Both pictures look great!. But, if I had a choice I would live in the classic designed home it’s timeless. To me the modern style just keeps reinventing itself every 10 yrs or so. Just like fashion.
I’m sure we all remember the “modern†wall panels that were made out of compressed wood in the 70’s. Even station wagons had them on the side.
What I don’t get is this craze for concrete floors. Who wants to get a tired back and have floors that look like they belong in a warehouse or factory? I can see the trendy appeal in a big retail space or even a restaurant, but nothing about concrete underfoot says “home.” (Of course, for me, nothing about a wall of glass says “home” either, unless you’re an iguana…)
FYI to all- I NEVER EVER post links to tinyurl.com and tell everyone do not click on those links. If you see Bx2Bklyn without the typekey icon- it ain’t me. hate to spoil the troll’s fun (or add to it) but those posts are not and NEVER have been mine.
I can’t stop that piece of mentally deficient garbage from posting (and he will) but I will reiterate as often as necessary those links are not posted by me. And I don’t often post these days because of socially challenged malicious twits like him. For all of you who think it’s a matter of just ignoring him, when he associates my id with the links he posts, it’s impossible to ignore.
“Well yeah, modern architecture will remind you of office buildings. Because often it’s the big corporations that hire the most cutting edge architects to design their buildings.”
I suppose that’s true if “the most cutting edge architects” are by definition the ones who are hired by big corporations. But then, who cares?
“It’s a matter of taste, as in all things.”
I agree that it’s a matter of taste, but it’s not merely a matter of taste. It’s also a matter of design and theory, and the modernists lose.
‘Someone who can’t stand dark Victorian interiors might say “It would remind me of a dusty antique shop.”‘
Cool!
“I think the most interesting thing about modern interiors vs. old interiors is how it affects attitude or even personality. A friend of mine grew up in a very modern glass house designed by a major architect, and she believes those houses make the people in them more disciplined.”
More disciplined? Hardly. More anal retentive? Definitely.
I don’t know what you’re insinuating up there Ed about Sharon and Jim, but they’re both intelligent, strong personalities in their own right (no whipping of any sort going on there as far as anyone can see) and they have lived in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill FOREVER, buying most (if not all) of their properties for what now seems a song — each one is a painstaking labor of love and both neighborhoods owe them a great debt.
“I’d forgotten how horrible modern design tends to be. What a mess!”
funny…i find the old school look to always look a mess. how can you call modern a mess…there’s barely anything there!
Sorry- the anon 2:00 post was me. for some reason it didn’t post my typekey id